Sheffield awarded £400,000 to help rough sleepers

Sheffield has been awarded £412,926 to help rough sleepers in the city.

The Government cash forms part of its’ Rough Sleeping Strategy,’ which is aimed at helping areas with the highest number of people at risk over the next two years.

Altogether £34 million has been allocated today to improve the support available to rough sleepers.

The cash is to be used by councils to back on-going initiatives including dedicated support teams and to secure additional bed spaces.

It is on top of £30 million worth of funding to tackle the issue which was provided to councils in June.

In Sheffield, £363,000 of the first round of funding is being spent expanding ‘housing led’ services and increasing emergency accommodation provision.

The cash also provided a specialist support worker to assist a 64-year-old with mobility and addiction problems from sleeping rough to settling into permanent accommodation.

Communities Secretary, James Brokenshire, said: “Our Rough Sleeping Strategy set out the blueprint to end rough sleeping by 2027. Now, we are vigorously taking the steps to make that happen.

“The funding through our Rough Sleeping Initiative is already making a real difference in helping support those off the streets into services and accommodation this year.

“But there is still work to do and that’s why we are supporting these areas with further funding to ensure progress continues to be made and vulnerable people are supported into services and accommodation.”